The issue of the safety of the residents of Donja Jablanica remains uncertain, and concerns about the future weigh heavily on the local population every day. All activities related to the quarry are still shrouded in secrecy, and the competent institutions do not share information. The Prosecutor’s Office of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton confirmed to BHRT that they had received the findings of a court expert in geodesy, but no further information is known.
Only three months after the floods in Donja Jablanica, in which 19 people died, did the competent institutions receive a preliminary report from the Federal Geological Institute. The report warns of the possibility of repeated catastrophic floods, which is why it is necessary to take specific protection measures.
The final phase of the flow, which refers to the deposition of mobilized material, is described in detail through the analysis of deposits in depositional zones, with special emphasis on their impact on settlements and infrastructure. This part of the report provides an estimate of the amount of deposited material, along with an analysis of the distribution of technogenic blocks in the proximal depositional zone. The assessment of safety conditions in the Donja Jablanica basin indicates a relatively stabilized state in the short term. Erosion processes during the last flow removed a significant part of the erodible material from the transit zones and quarry areas, which improved the hydraulic functionality of the channel. This reduces the likelihood of a resumption of the debris flow in the short term.
However, a long-term assessment of the terrain stability indicates the existence of a risk of periodic debris flows, which is characteristic of the geological history of this area.
Without systematic protection measures, individual settlements cannot be considered safe for life, the report states. However, most settlements can retain some functionality, but with protection measures. If they are not taken, geologists say, the affected area will remain in a high-risk zone in the long term. They suggest installing lattice dams that retain large material.
VEDAD DEMIR, Director of the Federal Institute of Geology:
A zone with very high risk has been identified, i.e. the zone immediately after the entry of the debris flow into the settlement of Donja Jablanica up to the railway, i.e. the culvert and the railway station. The recommendation for this zone is to be permanently excluded from settlement, while the other area below the railway is still in the high risk zone, as is the area around the mosque, but it could be settled if active protection measures are implemented in the zone above the settlement.
And while concrete protection measures are being awaited, the locals are in shock and panic. The local community also has no concrete information about the security situation.
SMAIL MASLO, resident of Donja Jablanica:
Will we have conditions for normal life here, when will it open, will the municipality participate in all of this since currently the people have done most of the work in Donja Jablanica and now we expect the competent services to create conditions for us to live.
ĆAMILA IMAMOVIĆ, a resident of D. Jablanica:
I can’t know anymore, this is just passing the ball from one to the other, when we say in our local community where we really have some communication with them, we don’t have any except through the media.
EMIR MURATOVIĆ, Mayor of Jablanica:
We have already initiated some activities as the municipality of Jablanica in cooperation with the Faculty of Geology, Mining and Geology and Civil Engineering in Tuzla so that we, as the municipality of Jablanica, can try to come up with these safety assessments and technical solutions for our areas that were affected, both for D. Jablanica and for Zlate, as well as for Mirke.
The Prosecutor’s Office of the Herzegovina-Neretva County confirmed to BHRT that they received the findings of the court expert in geodesy, and that the permanent court expert in geology was issued an order to take the necessary actions, with special emphasis on the role of the quarry at that location. The goal is to determine the potential liability of individuals and the company Sani d.o.o. in a quarry landslide.
